Sharing the learning from Future Play: An Action-Research Project of Fevered Sleep
The joyous experience of swishing my bushy tail and being part of a tribe that discovered how owning a tail, albeit briefly, made them feel and act is one of my abiding theatrical memories of 2014. That was Fevered Sleep’s Dusk on tour. Swishing a tail, watching rain fall live on stage, transforming a theatre into a forested wonderland—creating immersive and innovative performances for children—this is what the company is all about.
In 2010, a group of artists working across art forms and age ranges (alongside a group of funders, programmers and producers) came together to ‘reimagine what art for children could be.’ Together they identified a number of assumed barriers to touring great work; that children’s work is constantly relegated to weekends and holidays; that only recognised titles can drive sales; the limits on the technical sophistication of productions in order to accommodate concurrent adult programming.
As a result of these discussions, in 2011, Fevered Sleep launched, and Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded, an action-research project, Future Play to challenge these longstanding assumptions and to:
- test new models of touring performance for children with ten partner venues
- share learning and create a resource at the end of the project for artists and arts organisations to use when creating and programming work for children
- use the findings to raise the profile of theatre for children and drive ambition for making and presenting high quality work.
3 productions later, toured to 10 different venues in 8 UK regions, and Future Play has resulted in a helpful, practical guide summarising the innovative approaches Fevered Sleep and the venues have developed, including the results of testing different times for performances and ticket pricing; tips to help venues programme an art form that is new to its audiences and advice on building strong connections with local schools and community groups.
The learning is really interesting as are the questions that are raised. The research has identified the value of local ambassadors and just how important it is to have trailblazers and trusted advocates. The same can be said of the programmers, marketeers and makers. As they move on, they will take their experience with them, but how do we make sure that the places they go to will be open to their transformational approach? How do we translate the commitment of those who took part into abiding institutional memory in the places they leave?
The incredible value of really knowing your audiences lies at the heart of Future Play; data and intelligence sharing is critical as is a genuinely open door and a lack of ego. Asking a theatre company to ‘send us your tech spec and a poster’ simply is not good enough: not if we want to build audiences; not if we want to demonstrate why the arts should be funded; not if we are genuine in wanting to give people who have never had the chance before the moment to swish their tails.
As I said at the recent ‘No Boundaries’ conference:
More than ever we need everyone to see the value of culture, we are not talking about a marketing exercise, but an approach to equality that is embedded in the vision, the leadership, the employment, in all aspects of a companies’ work. And that will only happens if our buildings are open and welcoming physically and metaphorically; the programming reflects contemporary experiences; the people on stage, in the bands and running the place are recognizable to the people who might buy the tickets; our children and young people have access to it in school as well as outside; in short that it feels easy to be part of it.
And that takes time and generosity and ambition and a resolute challenge of the status quo. And that’s not easy. It’s a permanent movement we want to create, not a temporary intervention. Research projects like Future Play seems like one way to help us get there.
Read Future Play’s learning document, created by Fevered Sleep
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